Planting out pumpkins (etc)?

[Edith]

Just wondering when you tend to plant them out?

I normally wait til they are a bit big for 5cm pots, by which point they have several leaves, but this year I'm wondering about putting them out a bit earlier, at the three leaf stage, under cover. To the best of my knowledge the last frost date has passed...

We're on a new plot this year, much sunnier (south facing, sheltered) and with much better soil so I'm trying to balance over-enthusiasm and making the most of it the better conditions.

What do you all do?

[SarzWix]

It'll be another couple of weeks for me up here I'm guessing. Have you hardened them off?

[Edith]

Well I'm never sure about the hardening off. I normally put them out under cover anyway so I don't normally bother too much with hardening off. They are in a mini greenhouse right now. Does that sound about right?

[rustylady]

Is the mini greenhouse (blowaway) open during the day Edith?

What size pots are they in at the moment?

[Two_Sheds]

I normally put them out under cover

The cover is what, exactly? (glass, or polythene?)

[Edith]

tbh, its actually open all the time because I'm too lazy to go out of an evening and close it ;-). The leaves look about halfway through hardening off, I'd say-I would not put them straight in now without cover.

Actually mulling over what kind of cover to use really. I have a few options, as the previous plot owners generously left a lot of stuff on the plot for us . I have half a dozen half water cooler things which would be plastic but big, heavy plastic. I also have enough glass and bricks to build a temporary cold frame. I was going to use the cold frame to start off some salads quickly-round here its basically been pretty cold and the ground is still warming up so any jump start I can give them will help. Oh just to say though, the patch I was going to put the curcubits into has had black plastic down for a few weeks to warm it a bit so should be nice for them :-)

[Barking Postlethwaite]

Just done some today and intend to plant the rest out this week as we're going away for a few days and I don't want them hanging around in pots. This year they are going into land covered with membrane so the soil should be as warm as is possible given the conditions we've had. They've spent a few days outside, only going back indoors when close-to-frost temperatures have been forecast.

[treepixie]

Planning on planting mine out at the end of the week/next weekend.

They are starting to take over the cold frame and I need the room.

[VirginVegGrower]

Mine are getting hardened off this week for planting off in the next two weeks.

[rustylady]

Just wondering when you tend to plant them out?

I normally wait til they are a bit big for 5cm pots, by which point they have several leaves, but this year I'm wondering about putting them out a bit earlier, at the three leaf stage, under cover. To the best of my knowledge the last frost date has passed...

We're on a new plot this year, much sunnier (south facing, sheltered) and with much better soil so I'm trying to balance over-enthusiasm and making the most of it the better conditions.

Really? Pumpkins in 5cm pots? That's 2 inches in old money.

I sow my pumpkins singly in 3 and a half inch pots. They fill the pots with roots in no time at all, and then get potted into 5 inch pots. When the roots have filled these the plants get put out on the plot (after hardening off).

By the way, how do you tell if a plant has been hardened off by looking at the leaves?

[Linzy]

Ive hardened mine off and im planting out this week. Im right next to the sea so im frost free now

[buzzingtalk]

Mine are getting close to being hardened off, another few days and they will be hardy. Not quite ready to go on the plot yet as I haven't dug a hole for them yet - there's a section of the plot at the back which is my bed for them this year, its still weedy and I haven\t had the time to dig it over proper...gonna take it all to the ground, dig holes and fill with well rotted manure, and stick squash/pumpkins etc in them and cover as much of the weeds with cardboard which will hopefully stave the weeds off for a little bit.

[sammy_roser]

My March planted ones are being planted out after being hardened off this week. My April planted ones will go out in a couple of weeks.

[Alison]

Mine are still in 3" pots as were sown late due to the rubbish weather. I'll be potting them on into 5" pots pretty soon which they'll soon fill as they start ramping up in growth. Will then harden off and probably plant out a week or so into June. Although in theory we'd be past frosts by now it still gets pretty cold some nights and to be honest I'm not at all convinced we won't get another one, we did have hail last Monday!

[Edith]

@rusty to be completely honest I just use whatever pots I have, this time round I had a load of 5cm/2 1/2 inch ones. I had to start them in cells, which I don't normally bother to do because the germination rates of cucubits tends to be good.

Re the leaves. Its hard to explain, they kind of get a little darker and a little shinier. Found a link which might explain slightly better Hardening off tender plants / Royal Horticultural Society .

I guess what I'm angling at is whether there might be an optimum time for planting out-at what point is it helpful for the growth to become checked by the cold etc? They have really started growing fast in the greenhouse (fully open on one side but in a sheltered garden) and I'm not sure what I think about this, to me that just says lots of nice tender growth for the slugs to go for!

I'm also relieved that so many are planting out soon, might do that.